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The 7 Heavens of Celestia
The Seven Heavens of Celestia are the highest plane in the cosmos, inhabited by the unnamed overdeity and his angel servants. It appears as floating islands wreathed in clouds surrounding a mountain atop which a bright light glows. Those who seek true enlightenment rather than simply peace and bliss must pass trials of virtue to reach the highest heaven. Each trial is more difficult than the last and many turn back several times or give up entirely. Each tier of heaven is presided over by a seven-winged seraphim or archangel. The First Tier: Temperence Upon entering Celestia, the visitor is greeted by the Seraphim Ramiel. Ramiel leads them to a garden of paradise. There, visitors find lovers aplenty, endless sweet wines, bounteous feasts to satisfy any mortal craving. Many choose to remain forever on this tier, indulging in their eternal reward. However, those that choose for forsake excess and realize that they need only take what is needed are allowed to progress. The Second Tier: Purity On the second tier of heaven, the visitor is greeted by the Seraphim Sariel. Sariel explains that he once traveled to the material plane where he seduced many mortal women, creating many half-celestials, but unfortunately took these women away from mortal men who could have been their husbands. For this he was at one point kicked out of heaven until he repented and was welcomed back. Where he was once tempted by over-indulging in the pleasures of the flesh, he now instructs visitors on how to overcome such things. One must move beyond mortal desires to reach the next level of enlightenment. The Third Tier: Persistence On the third tier of heaven, the visitor arrives at the foot of a great mountain with a winding path leading up to its summit. They are greeted by the Seraphim Uriel. Uriel will present them with a trial to climb the mountain. The road is impossibly long and more and more arduous as it goes. It takes years and years to reach the top. Those that lose the will to go on need only wish that they return to the base of the mountain where they may rest as long as they choose. However, if they do so, they would need to start all over again. The Fourth Tier: Sacrifice The visitor will at last reach a vista where they can rest before continuing on toward the summit. A bridge stretches over a vast chasm. There, they meet Raguel, Seraphim of Justice. Raguel informs the visitor that although they led virtuous lives, no life is without sin. The visitor's sins then manifest themselves as their shadow- a foe that assaults the visitor and prevents them from passing. The visitor cannot defeat this incarnation of their sins no matter how they struggle. Each beating is more painful than the last. The visitor must come to realize that they cannot make the sins of their past go away. They have to accept them and then do their best to make up for them with their good deeds. Once they come to this realization an incarnation of their virtue will manifest itself as a radiant halo of light. The shadow will still follow them but it is overpowered by the light and can no longer harm them. The Fifth Tier: Mercy This tier of heaven, located at the summit of the mountain, is home to the overdeity's angelic armies, which are led by the Seraphim Michael. Michael, who defeated Lucifer during his rebellion chose to show mercy to his defeated former friend. Michael believes that even Lucifer will some day repent and find his way back to heaven. He instructs those who reach him to defend against evil but to be willing to forgive those who truly repent. He tests those who visit him by showing them a planar portal leading down to hell through which Lucifer was cast. There, they witness the sins of a heinous sinner in the lower planes who truly, genuinely wishes to begin the process of repentance and is remorseful for their deeds. Often, he will show those who reach him someone who gravely wronged them or someone they love personally. To pass Michael's test, the applicant must be willing to put aside thoughts of vengeance and hatred and descend into Hell to lift the suffering soul up from their torments, carry them up the river Styx and deliver them to the shores of Purgatory. If they do so, they will grow angelic wings and will be able to carry them back into the portal to heaven, which no evil may enter. However, during this time, devils will seek to tempt the visitor into instead remaining in hell to punish and torture the one that wronged them. If they side with the devils, they lose their halo and instead grow horns and bat wings, becoming devils. The Sixth Tier: Satisfaction ''' On this tier of heaven, in the golden air above the summit of the mountain, the visitor flies up and encounters Raphael, the Seraphim of healing. Now that the visitor has forgiven their enemies, Raphael attempts to help them with any other lingering regrets from the lives they have led. They are tested by being shown visions of what could have been had other decisions been made. They may see entire lifetimes play out before their eyes. The visitor must accept that they made the choices that they did and be satisfied with them, not become lost in false lives, to move on. '''The Seventh Tier: Reverence On this final tier of heaven, the visitor enters the sphere of light meets with Gabriel, the seraphim who is most often charged with bringing the word of the unnamed overdeity to mortals. Here, they hear the word of the overdeity and what he has deemed as their role in the universe. The final test is to accept the will of the overdeity as one's own. Doing so will allow them to be reborn as an angel to serve whatever task is chosen. They will also be able to gaze upon the face of the overdeity and meet with him personally.